


watermelon sugar

by earl_grey_orange_tabby



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Coming of Age, F/F, F/M, Fluff, High School AU, M/M, Mentions of Cancer, PDA, Past Child Abuse, Psychological Trauma, Swearing, Underage Drinking, aangst (haha), but i dont wanna spoil them soo, change my mind, exploring sexuality (you'll see), indie bitch, literally every genre, lots of shenanigans, more tags will come as the story updates, shenanigans galore, there are a ton more relationships, toph swears like a sailor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:08:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25230652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earl_grey_orange_tabby/pseuds/earl_grey_orange_tabby
Summary: on the day after their high school graduation, it occurs to team avatar that this is:1) the last summer they’ll have together before college and2) the first summer that their schedules aren’t completely packed.so, they decide to come up with a list of things they’ve never been able to do before, and resolve to complete it before summer’s end. love, friendship, and shenanigans ensue. basically, my version of a coming-of-age high school au, but during summer. enjoy!title comes from "watermelon sugar" by harry styles, one of my faves
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar), there are a ton more relationships but i dont wanna spoil it sooo
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	watermelon sugar

**Author's Note:**

> before i go into the chapter, i wanted to say that yay! this is my first avatar fic!! i even made my first ever tumblr to promote it/check out that wonderful world of atla tumblr content. Check it out!! 
> 
> tumblr: earl-grey-orange-tabby
> 
> Also, this is random, and i can’t draw, but if anyone wants me to attempt to draw anything from the chapter (or any new chapters) to see how i’d envisioned it, comment it! i’m u.s.-based, so i’ve been under quarantine, and am looking for a fun hobby to occupy my time. 
> 
> Warning tho: i’m a doodler, i cant actually draw, sooo do with that what you will

“Congratulations to Yu Dao High’s Class of 2020! We did it!"

Katara smiled fondly as she typed out the words on her smartphone, repositioning and resizing them in front of a beautiful picture of herself throwing her cap in the air (a picture that Gran Gran of all people had managed to catch). After fussing around with it for a little, she finally settled on a perfect spot for the text and posted it to her story on Instagram.

After seeing the green circle pop up around her icon, she set her phone down and sipped her bubble tea through the thick blue straw that she’d picked out. She smiled to herself as she tasted the sweet slurry of mango and passionfruit that she’d bought. 

She and Sokka were waiting for the rest of their friends at the Jasmine Dragon, a boba tea shop that their friend Zuko’s uncle owned. They were seated outside, enjoying the beautiful June day. 

She was brought out of her thoughts by a phone thrusted into her face. Looking down, she saw a really cute picture of all six of them (Aang, Sokka, Suki, Toph, Zuko, and herself) staring up at her from the screen. She batted the hand away, and said, “What, Sokka!”

Sokka, her older brother, gave her a grin and exclaimed, “Isn’t that a great pic for the ‘gram?”

“Better send it on the team avatar chat and see if everyone wants to be tagged.”

Sokka nodded, and a second later she heard a ping from her phone. She checked it, and Sokka had sent the picture, with the caption “ _this good_?”

Aang was the first to reply, saying, “ _that looks rlly good Sokka !! but could u tag my main instead of my finsta this time?_ ”

After reading this, both Katara and Sokka snickered, knowing that Aang’s finsta was full of memes and reposts of cosplays from the group’s favorite board game,  _ Avatar _ . 

Avatar was this board game/playing card game where players (referred to as benders) were given a starting figurine (with names like Kyoshi, Roku, Kuruk, Yangchen, etc.) with a starting element that they were able to manipulate. They went around the board collecting points and “leveling up” their bending in three other elements. The first person to master all four elements was crowned “Avatar”. 

It was Aang’s biggest passion in life. He’d been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia in the eighth grade, and had had to undergo treatment for 2 ½ years before he went into remission in their sophomore year. 

In 9th grade, he’d asked for a Make-a-Wish that involved meeting the creators of Avatar and the people who Avatar was based on. They’d dedicated a figurine to him, and the next released version of the game included an Aang figurine. (Of course, Aang played as himself every time he played). 

He’d started an Avatar club his freshman year, and only Katara and Sokka- who had just moved there from Alaska- had joined. Sokka hadn’t exactly  _ vibed _ with Aang the first meeting, but Katara instantly connected with him. She’d dragged Sokka back for every monthly meeting, and the trio eventually became best friends. 

Then, sophomore year, Toph, a short, angry, blind girl who had transferred from private school, and, surprisingly enough, almost instantly clicked with their dynamic. She was rough and acted arrogantly at the beginning, but they learned to love Toph for who she was. (Plus she knew all the tricks for earth bending, which was one of the only parts of the game that Aang had trouble with) 

At the end of that year, they’d become friends with Zuko, a tall, angry, scarred boy who had previously been really rude and stand-offish to them and had sometimes even supported his sister Azula, who Katara could only describe as some kind of psycho- or socio-path, in bullying them. He apologized fervently for his actions, and had confessed that he was a major Avatar stan. Once they saw that the “Old Zuko” was nothing like what he really was: shy and kind of sweet, they eventually welcomed him in. 

Suki, a badass, beautiful martial artist who used to flirt with Sokka in freshman year, had to move halfway through it, but eventually moved back halfway through junior year, joining the Avatar club and officially dating Sokka. Suki was just an overall likeable person, and she’d always been friendly to all of them, even forgiving Zuko for being an especially major asshole to her and her martial arts team freshman year. 

Katara was brought out of these thoughts when she heard a car horn honking. Looking up, she saw Suki parking her car across the street. Since they were outside, Sokka jumped up to open the car door for Suki, waggling his eyebrows as he did so. 

Suki and Katara laughed, and as soon as she reached the table, Katara jumped up and crushed Suki in a huge hug, then let her sit down. She complimented her outfit (Suki always looked cute but her burgundy crop top suited her so well) and Suki complimented her hair, which she’d done the day before for graduation. The three chatted for a few minutes until Aang and Toph arrived, almost at the same time. 

Toph hopped out of the car, landing squarely on her dark combat boots, ignoring the request from her dad to help her out, and yelled out, “We graduated bitches!”, to which she received a few nasty glares from other patrons sitting outside the Jasmine Dragon. Suki, Sokka, and Katara cheered loudly, and as Aang crossed the street he let out a whoop. 

Aang had walked there with his big, fluffy sheepdog Appa, since his group home was a few blocks away. (Yes, Aang was in a group home. Although it seemed the kid could hardly catch a break, he was definitely the most sunny and energetic person any of the group had ever met). 

He gave everyone a hug as he went to go sit down, and as he did, Appa put his head on Aang’s lap. As they talked, Aang stroked Appa’s head softly. The group chattered about what they’d done since they saw each other at graduation the day before. 

Katara and Sokka had held a small barbeque at their house, inviting Gran Gran and their new grandfather, Pakku (who Sokka affectionately referred to as Grand-Pakku), as well as Bato and others from their old Yuit tribe in Alaska. Suki had come as well, since her parents were traveling and weren’t even able to make graduation. 

Aang’s guardians had thrown him a little surprise party with an abundance of his favorite food (egg custard tarts) and all the other children had played party games and Avatar with him. 

Toph had had a stiff graduation party at her house, with her parents, which she detested. But, and this she smirked gleefully at, when her aunt had tried to grab her to help the  _ poor, helpless _ blind girl to the table with cake, she’d tripped her and the aunt had fallen into the cake. 

As the boys and Suki giggled at the story, Katara playfully chided Toph on being nice. Toph just shrugged and tried not to let her giggles escape her. 

When they heard the jingle from the bell on the door of the Jasmine Dragon, they all instinctively turned towards it to see Zuko, the final member of their group, holding a bunch of boba drinks for the rest of them. 

As the group members went up to help relieve him, he sat down and reached to untie his work apron. Once he’d folded the soft green apron gently, he said, “So... “, smiling mischievously at Toph and nudging her, “we graduated bitches!”

The group let out a simultaneous mishmash of cheers and “fuck yeah”s, until Iroh came outside, fighting a smile, and said, “You children will scare off my customers if you keep on with the yelling!”

Simultaneously, the graduates yelled, “Sorry, Uncle Iroh!”

They quickly quieted down, and sipped their boba tea. Aang complimented Zuko on how well-made they were, and everyone chimed in with their agreement. Zuko smiled, and replied, “Aww, thanks Aang. I finally,  _ finally _ figured out how to work the tapioca pearl machine, so that was a game-changer.”

Toph, with her mouth full of aforementioned tapioca pearls, blurted, “No wah, who may them befoh?”

Zuko, seemingly understanding her warbled question, said, “Uncle would make them and freeze them in the morning, and I’d thaw them out as people needed them.” 

Sokka, sensing an opportunity, jumped in with, “ _ Speaking  _ of freezing, we should go ice skating at that old ice skating rink next to the vintage diner place.” He looked at the others hopefully, watching for their reactions, “Ya know, since everyone’s off of school and we don’t really have any summer prep to do, our schedules should be a lot emptier now.” 

They’d been planning to do it for forever, but they kept cancelling because of various senior year business. So, since there was no school and practically no responsibilities to be had, everyone was on board. Going to that specific ice skating place was practically a rite of passage for Yu Dao seniors. 

This thought of “no school” “no responsibilities” quickly wriggled its way into Katara’s brain and burrowed itself in. Since she was so involved in her academics and extracurriculars, she hadn’t really had a chance to relax since probably middle school. This quickly spun an idea in her head. 

Toph was busy telling the group that since she was blind, she’d probably “need one of those fuckin’ kiddy dinosaurs” when they went skating, but Katara interrupted. She said, “Sorry for interrupting, Toph, but I just had an idea.”

“Go for it, Sugar Queen,” Toph growled playfully. 

Aang, Suki, Toph, Zuko, and a miffed Sokka looked at her attently, as she continued, “Sokka’s right. This is the first time we’ve had a summer off in forever. And this is also the last summer we have before we go off to college, and we won’t see each other for a while after that.”

She looked at the others’ thoughtful expressions and saw that they were right in the same boat as her.

“We should each choose one thing that we haven’t been able to do in the city, and we can plan on doing them throughout the summer!” Katara exclaimed. 

Team Avatar burst into conversation, each chiming in with what they’d love to do and how much fun it would be. 

Then Suki realized someone should probably write all this down. She produced a colorful journal and a black pen from her purse, and ripped out a page from inside of the journal. She labeled it: 

_ TEAM AVATAR’S PERFECT SUMMER _

“All right,” Suki said, “Let’s hear it.”

Sokka decided that the ice skating rink would still be his choice, since he was an avid skater, he said he’d “love to see everyone fall on their butts”. 

_ SOKKA: ice skating _

Next, Toph said, “Alright y’all, this is kind of a tall order, but how about Six Flags. They’ve got their really big student discount and I can help anyone who needs help paying.”

The group looked at each other hesitantly, until Zuko, surprisingly, said, “Fuck it, I’d want to.” Toph looked at him surprisedly, expecting him- of all of them- to be the first to reject the proposal. Zuko smiled at her and asserted, “No, really guys, I was actually looking at the prices recently and it’s like 20 bucks (A/N: I know this is completely unrealistic but ehh) with the discount.”

So, down went:

_ TOPH:  _ six flags

“Ooh! Ooh! I got one!” Aang yelled, “Let’s go sledding!”

The group all started laughing, and Katara said, “Aang, it’s summer! Where are we gonna find snow to sled on?”

Aang just gave a secretive smirk and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll find a place.”

Suki just shrugged and wrote down:

_ AANG:  _ sledding? 

Katara went next, immediately saying, “Let’s go to the beach.” Sokka immediately whispered, “Let’s go get away they say whattheygonnasay.” Toph started laughing and Zuko buried his head in his hands. 

Suki giggled as she scribbled: 

_ KATARA:  _ beach day

Zuko was still pondering, so Suki took it upon herself to say, “I found a free music festival we could go to nearer to the end of summer, it has a bunch of bands coming.”

Aang practically squealed at that one, exclaiming, “I saw that online. Someone on Twitter said that Wallows might show up!” Sokka and Katara both chimed in with “No way” and “You’re  _ kidding _ .” 

Suki snickered at her boyfriend and friend’s antics, and wrote out:

_ SUKI (me <3) _ : music festival

Finally, they all turned to Zuko expectantly, and he scratched his neck before saying, “I don’t know… maybe a bonfire?”

That one got a lot of positive feedback from two people in particular: Sokka (“smores and barbeque meat yummm”) and Toph (“giant fire. Sign me uppp.”)

So, Suki scrawled:

_ ZUKO:  _ bonfire (keep matches away from Toph)

Satisfied with the list, Katara slipped the straw out of her almost empty boba drink and called for a cheers. They each raised their boba and Katara proclaimed,

“To the best summer ever!” 

“CHEERS” 

**Author's Note:**

> this is just some extra info that i found kinda cool: i’m making katara and sokka yuit, (basically a grouping within a grouping of alaska natives who are referred to as inuit). I’m fairly sure the creators of avatar must’ve been using them as a template for the southern water tribe, because there’s a lot of similarities between the yuit and the southern water tribe (a really big focus on the water, the use of sealskin, similar weapons). There’s also a north inuit and south inuit, of which the yuit are referred to as the southern inuit.   
> (i got all of my info on this from pbs, an article called “Alaska Native Communities on Harriman’s Route”, which was really interesting to read)
> 
> Also, I don’t really know much about boba tea, so i’m gonna pretend that’s how tapioca pearls work. Sue me. 
> 
> you can check out my tumblr in a few hours for a pic of suki's list. 
> 
> If you see this, comment your favorite band, and I’ll include it in Suki’s chapter.


End file.
